


Deed I Do

by Entwinedlove



Series: Marvelously Magical Bingo 2018 [18]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Lives, Canon Disabled Character, Coworkers - Freeform, F/M, Gen, Period-Typical Racism, SHIELD, SSR, Sirius Lives!, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 19:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16069742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Entwinedlove/pseuds/Entwinedlove
Summary: Sirius gave Bucky a half-hearted shrug. "Maybe I do have something to prove."





	Deed I Do

**Author's Note:**

> For Marvelously Magical Bingo 2018; for square **G5** – _"Right, cuz you got nothin' to prove." – Bucky Barnes_
> 
> [ ](https://i.imgur.com/lBykpLb.gif)
> 
>   
>  There's also the usual [cover image](https://i.imgur.com/rHHqb9K.jpg) and the [song](https://youtu.be/kQ1PB0LWrgM) playing at the end (for which this story is named.) 

SSR's headquarters were empty late this Friday evening. Many of Bucky's coworkers had gone home to their wives or met up for drinks after work. He could have gone. He'd been invited. Instead, he was taking his time to pack up his desk. There was a surprising amount of things that were his, from the alternate claw and fake hand for his prosthetic to his firearm cleaning kit. The handgun was his as were the two photographs, laid flat in his top desk drawer so no one else would see them unless they were snooping.

He laid both pictures in the top of his box, smiling at the moving one. It was of him and Peggy dancing.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had him looking up. Sirius was leaning against the doorjamb, watching him.

"You didn't go out for celebratory drinks with the fellas?" Bucky asked.

Sirius shook his head and entered the room, coming to sit on the edge of Bucky's bare desk. "Nope. Didn't see the point of celebrating. My partner's been offered a new job, you see. I'm feeling a little... melancholy about it. You know, 'that typical Sirius stuff.'"

The other men in SSR had finally had to stop targeting Peggy with their ostracising after she left to found SHIELD and they'd decided Sirius was _other_ enough to be a good substitute. No matter how much Bucky had tried to get them to stop they rarely let up. He was actually rather shocked that Sirius was planning on staying at SSR now that Bucky'd been recruited by SHIELD.

"You want to go out for drinks just the two of us?" Bucky asked.

Sirius snorted in amusement. "You make it sound like I'm never going to see you again. I see how much you value my friendship."

"Hey, that's not what I meant. I was just..."

"You know what I want? I want you to teach me how to shoot. Properly, I mean. Thompson gave me a rudimentary run down and just assumed that pointing a wand was the same as a pistol. It's not."

"Why now? You've been an SSR agent for two years. You've managed to make it work."

"Because," was all he said but there was a stubborn tip to his chin. "I just want to be better at my job is all."

"Right, cuz you got nothin' to prove."

Sirius gave a half-hearted shrug. "Maybe I do have something to prove."

Bucky sat back down in his chair, feeling the pieces click together in his head. Sirius skipping out after lunch last week. Peggy mentioning a failed recruitment exam that night over dinner. Sirius had applied for SHIELD and failed the weapons test. No wonder he didn't feel like celebrating.

"All right. Shooting lessons," Bucky conceded, "What do I get in return, seeing as you're trying to follow me to SHIELD?"

Sirius grinned mischievously. "How about I keep hounding you about that ring you've been carrying around. What's it been now? A year?"

Bucky sighed and shook his head, he should have known confiding in Sirius was a bad idea. "Six months, asshole. It's only been six months."

"And you still haven't found the right time to ask?" He said, raising his eyebrows. "Maybe you're scared she won't say yes?"

Bucky knew Sirius was teasing, of course, but he licked his lips and leaned back, nodding once slowly. He was terrified Peggy would say no. It had been a whim that he'd asked his mom for her ring in the first place but even after a year and a half, with dates mixed in with missions and falling into each other's beds, Bucky wasn't sure what Peggy felt for him. Did she feel like she was settling every time she looked at him? He wasn't Steve. He never would be, never _could_ be, but that didn't mean he loved her any less. "Honestly, I don't know if she's even the marrying sort of dame," he said.

Sirius's grin had slipped away in the few moments it took Bucky to answer. "You really are daft, aren't you? She'll say yes, mate." He reached over and patted Bucky on the arm. "Come on, sounds like you need some Dutch courage."

Bucky scoffed a little laugh and shook his head but stood. "I don't think drinking's going to help anything, Sirius."

"Sure it will. Firewisky'll give you courage. I've found the perfect place too."

"You've gone bar-hopping lately?" Bucky asked as he manipulated his prosthetic so he could pick up his box of things.

Sirius hummed. "It's a speakeasy. It's got live music."

"Didn't think you would know what a speakeasy was... but then again, you're always _sniffing_ out the best places for booze."

Sirius rolled his eyes but smiled and held the door so Bucky could walk through with his box. "Ooo, nice underhanded Animagus joke. No one's ever mentioned sniffing before," he drawled.

* . * . *

Bucky looked around the dingy pub with something like awe on his face. He'd known about magic for five years now... but he'd never known about magic like this. There was a giant in the corner, hunched over so his head wouldn't hit the ceiling. The live music was being performed by a... goblin? The Firewhisky and Gigglewater that Sirius had ordered had been provided by another small creature that Bucky didn't have a name for.

Sirius's favourite drink, Firewhisky, burned like cinnamon as Bucky swallowed it and he felt warmth in his body from head to toe. Even his eyelids felt warmed. He could understand getting addicted to the feeling. He stopped himself from ordering a second one and was content to lean back and listen to the singer. Mixed in with the magical-themed songs were renditions of popular songs that he knew. He tapped his foot to the tempo and relaxed.

Things were fine until a small group of young men came down the stairs, disrespecting the singer by talking loudly. "Damn No-Majs are everywhere these days," the freckled leader said, "Can't even get a drink without having to look over your shoulder to make sure some little shit isn't nosing around behind you."

Bucky didn't let himself stiffen at the words. Although Sirius had always called him a Muggle he could understand the sentiment of _No-Maj_. He glanced at Sirius from the corner of his eye and Sirius nodded, standing and pulling out a few coins to pay for their drinks. Bucky made to follow but was stopped when one of the men laid an arm across his shoulders in a mockery of camaraderie.

"You disagree with me about No-Majs being trash, bucko?"

Bucky didn't react but Sirius had to go and snort.

"What?" the man said, squeezing, his fingers digging into the plastic cup at the top of his prosthetic. "You got a problem?" He asked, addressing Sirius.

"No," Sirius said and though he tried to keep a straight face, a smile was slowly crawling up his lips, "You just mispronounced my friend's name is all."

The man's hand squeezed again and then he yanked down on Bucky's sleeve. He or one of his buddies must have used his wand because the seam at the shoulder gave way on both his jacket and his shirt, exposing the top of his prosthetic and the angry-looking scar tissue underneath. "Hmph, what's this? We got a No-Maj in our midst?" he taunted, shoving Bucky a step away from him. His friends formed a rough circle around him like they were vultures. "How do you lose it? Slam it in a door like the dumb animal you are?"

"Lost it in the war," Bucky answered with as much nonchalance as he could muster.

"What war?" the guy asked, mockery in his tone. "The stupid No-Maj thinks we care about his stupid war, you believe that fellas?" he asked his friends.

Bucky could hear them all grumbling their agreement around him. He tilted his head a little, might as well get the last word in before he got his ass kicked when Sirius stepped in. He used his height to crowd up on the lead guy and get in his face. "Ever heard of Grindelwald, you ignorant bellend? Ever see what a Reductor Curse does to body parts? It isn't pretty." He raised his wand and dug the tip of it into the guy's shoulder. "I can show you if you like?"

There was something terrifying about the look in Sirius's eyes then, something that spoke of the family history of madness and a revelry in dark magic. Bucky'd always dismissed Sirius's claims of coming from a family like that because he'd never seen it in him. He believed him now.

"Wait, you fellas fought in Grindlewald's war?" One of the cronies asked.

Bucky turned his head just enough to look at the guy and raised his eyebrows, still hoping he came off as relaxed. He knew enough that if this confrontation devolved into a fight, he was at a distinct disadvantage. He might get one good punch in if he caught the first by surprise but they'd start slinging spells and he'd be outed for sure then.

Leader-man was staring up at Sirius and every so often flicking his gaze towards Bucky. Finally, he shook his head and stammered, "Uh, no—no."

Sirius nodded, a maniacally smug look on his face as he nodded. "That's what I thought. We'll be leaving now." He lowered his wand and glanced over. "Come on Bucky. Oh, and pick up those coins. Our new friend here's going to pay for our drinks." He patted the fella on the cheek a few times, the last being more like a slap. "Isn't that right?"

Leader-man swallowed audibly and nodded.

"Good boy."

Bucky did as he was told, grabbing the few coins from the table, and followed Sirius out of the pub. They were quiet for half a block as they strode along, Bucky's frantic heartbeat the only sound in his ears. He couldn't have even told someone if they were being followed or not. Sirius glanced back once or twice. Finally, when his heartbeat started to slow, Bucky realised he had a lot of questions for his partner.

"So, what does a Reductor Curse do to body parts?"

"Blows them apart. Blood and muscle and sinew just... splat. Everywhere."

Bucky didn't want to think any more about that and asked, "What was that back there? I've never seen you look so..."

"Mad?" Sirius asked, laughing. "Yeah, I sort of channelled my cousin Bellatrix for that. Madest bitch I know. Knew. Whatever."

"And the condescending slapping? And paying for our drinks? A little over the top, wasn't it? How do you know they aren't going to come after us?"

"Oh, for that I was channelling dear old Mum. She was really good at condescending to the unwashed masses. I think I scared him enough that they won't follow. Sorry about the whole thing, and you know, about attributing you to a war that wasn't your own and all, I just... I forgot about Rappaport's law."

Bucky slowed to a stop at the subway entrance they were walking by. A train to Brooklyn would hopefully lose any tail they had. He was ready to call it a night. "And what's that?"

"Basically the magical–non-magical segregation law here. We aren't supposed to fraternize with Muggles. It'll get repealed in '65 but..."

"Maybe we should stick to Muggle bars from now on?"

"Yeah. I just wanted you to experience my side of things a bit, I guess. Getting roughed up isn't the best selling point for firewhisky, though."

"The music and the whisky were good." He tucked his hand into his trouser pocket and rocked back on his heels. "You know, I've seen racist bullshit. Seen prejudice. Worked with men—and women—who'd experienced it. That's the first time I've experienced it myself." His eyes caught on the _No Coloreds_ sign in the window of the shop across the street. He shook his head. "You said it's not as bad in the future, right?"

Sirius glanced up at the sign as well. "Yeah. Not perfect... but not like it is now." He sighed and turned back to Bucky. "Here, let me fix your sleeve. Can't have you going home to the Mrs like that."

"I don't live with—"

"That's right! You don't. You should! You. Should. Ask her!" He teased as he flicked his wand at the ripped seam, fixing it back as neat as it was.

Bucky rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Yeah, yeah." They made plans to meet up the following afternoon for lessons and parted ways after Sirius enlarged and returned Bucky's box of things. He Disapparated with a quiet pop in the empty subway stairwell, leaving Bucky alone. He looked down into the dark, thinking about the train ride home before he followed the steps back up to the street and started walking. It didn't take long before he was standing at the base of one of Stark's buildings, the only one Bucky cared about at all. The one Peggy lived in.

He shuffled about on the sidewalk for a few minutes before venturing in. He bypassed the elevator and headed for the stairs.

* . * . *

There was music playing quietly in the living room when Peggy answered the door. She didn't open it completely, leaving her hand to rest on the side of the door as she looked him over. "Bucky? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Peg, I just..." he bit his lip feeling the nervousness creep up his spine. "I should probably go..."

"Nonsense, come in. You're already here." She opened the door and ushered him in, taking his box of things from him and setting it on the foyer table. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Once inside and settled with a cup of tea, Bucky recounted his experience at the magical speakeasy and the near-miss of the fight. He brought up Sirius asking for lessons and asked her outright to confirm that he was trying to join SHIELD too.

"Yes," she answered. "He's tired of the disrespect he gets at SSR—not that I blame him, I wholeheartedly commiserate with him regarding that—but we couldn't just hire him as an agent without the same examinations we put everyone else through. The only portion he failed was the weapons handling. It's no wonder he came to you for help, seeing as you passed that section with the highest marks of all our recruits so far."

Bucky looked down at his empty teacup and shrugged off the praise.

The radio announcer mentioned that they had one last block of songs before they'd be signing off for the night and hoped the listeners would make the best of them. The first to come on was a slower song from earlier in the decade, perfect for closing out a night of Lindyhop. He stood and looked over at Peggy, holding out his hand for her. "Dance with me?"

She seemed reluctant but licked her lips and stood, placing her hand in his. He led her around the small open floor space in the opulent living room and tried not to think about anything but the sound of the music in his ears and the feel of the woman he loved in his arms. The song transitioned into a Lena Horne love song and Bucky hummed along with it, singing the simple lyrics along with the recording. As the song was coming to a close he stepped back, slipped his hand into his pocket and plucked his mother's engagement ring from there. He took a deep breath and knelt, looking up at Peggy. She was already smiling.


End file.
